If you've watched much of spring training baseball -- not just this year, but any year -- you know it's foolhardy to put much stock into Grapefruit League results.
In many games, especially on the road, one team is likely playing with a lineup of just a few regulars. The final innings often feature players who will be toiling at Double A in a few weeks, all wearing football numbers on their jerseys. And while the games are competitive, the intensity is lacking.
Managers are more interested in seeing how players adapt to new roles or how well veterans have responded to a previous injury than they are in actually winning a game. It's highly unlikely that Alex Cora will, for instance, use closer Kenley Jansen in the sixth inning of a game this season - but he did last week.
In short, it's difficult, if not impossible, to read too much into results.
Given that, how much stock should we put into the fact that, in the second week of March, the 2023 Boston Red Sox have, to date, refused to lose? After their victory over the Atlanta Braves in North Port, Fla. Tuesday night, the Red Sox are undefeated at 8-0-3, their longest unbeaten streak in the spring since at least 1951.
What does it mean? Something? Anything?
"I don't think it's a secret that spring training wins and losses are very different from regular season wins and losses,'' said Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom. "But any time you take the field, you want to be high-fiving at the end. It doesn't matter the context. And the energy, the sense of purpose, the focus in this camp has been awesome. It was awesome before the games started; it's been awesome since.
"So the fact that that has been rewarded with winning is really nice to see. The early stages in the games on any given day are being played by a lot of guys that we're going to be counting on at the major league level. The later stages of the game usually aren't. So the fact that we've managed to come away with a bunch of W's speaks to the energy that has carried through the whole group, whether it's been guys who have been in the big leagues for a long tine or guys who haven't even gotten there.''
With the Sox coming off a losing record and a last-place finish in 2022, it would seem a good thing that winning at the rate they have would, if nothing else, helped create a return to a winning culture in anticipation of the regular season. But here, Bloom sees a limited correlation.
"I think one of the great things about this camp within our walls is that the group in that clubhouse doesn't worry about (shedding the losing),'' said Bloom. "They're focused on what they're here to do and they've done a tremendous job of it. The group has really come together wonderfully. I do believe that winning can be a habit, but I haven't been concerned about that in our clubhouse because I think they're really focused on the right things -- on looking forward, on getting better ).and seeing where that takes them.''
Occasionally, though, Bloom said there have been instances when a good record in Grapefruit League play led to a surprisingly successful season. It happened with the Sox, prior to Bloom's arrival, in 2018. And when Bloom was with the Tampa Bay Rays, a similar scenario unfolded in 2008, which culminated in the franchise's first World Series run.
When it comes to won-loss records, some managers have said an ideal spring scenario is to play right around .500 -- just well enough to eliminate any negativity, and yet not so well that a team leaves Florida overconfident about itself.
But Bloom is more attentive to how the team is doing its work and less about the Grapefruit League standings.
"The most impressive thing here isn't the results,'' he said. "It's how they've come together and how focused they are on the things. It's really been an awesome and fun camp to be around to this point. I don't know that there's the perfect record to land on, but if we can keep being the last team to lose in 2023, I'd take that. I'm not worried about it leading to too much or too little confidence on March 30 (Opening Day).
"As long as we keep doing the right things every day, I don't see the result affecting our readiness. But it is nice to be putting up W's.''
Often, the results on the field -- in spring training or the regular season -- are a reflection of a process of good practice habits. If teams are committed to strong fundamentals, that should produce more wins on the field. But there are other foundations laid, off the field, that are critical. And from what Bloom has observed, this edition has been getting its requite work in with a purpose, and has avoided going through the motions.
"Just the way that everybody's interacting, trying to get to know each other so that they can help each other,'' noted Bloom. "You hear conversations about how best win games within the new rules. It's been fun, it's been loose, but there's been a lot of good things happening that think are focused on getting better every day we're out here and putting us in position to have a fun season.''